All Boy!

Twice I have had to cancel my appointment for Sam's 4 year pictures because he's constantly doing something that causes him to have a bump, bruise, or scrap on his face. Finally, Sunday afternoon we were able to get his pictures done! Literally, within 2 hours of finishing, the kid already had a black eye! Apparently during "rest time" Sam decided to play a game with his flashlight and somehow bonked himself in the face and now he has a lovely black and blue mark under his right eye. At least we got those pictures taken first! (Look closely at the pic below and you can see his ringer).

Here's a few of the 4 year pics that were taken yesterday at Sears. We had a hard time choosing our favorite one. Those dimples get me everytime!

Let the Countdown Begin!

In less than 1 month (26 days to be exact) our lives will change dramatically! While I am very excited for the arrival of our new little boy, I'm also not quite ready to give up my life of freedom. Currently, I get a full night's sleep and Sam is mostly independent. He dresses himself, goes potty by himself, wipes his own butt, and even helps me out around the house (ie. "Sam, please go get mommy a drink of water.") Soon, I will be totally responsible again for the feeding, nursing, and diapering of a helpless (but precious) little infant and my free time will virtually disappear. So, I'm doing my best right now to not only prepare for L.B.'s (Little Beckham) arrival, but also enjoy some quiet moments to myself... laying in the sun, reading a good book/magazine, getting my hair colored, mini-pedicure, etc.

36 WEEKS

Also, I wanted to mention that Thursday I had a final ultrasound in Grand Rapids to check on the health of this baby's heart. At 19 weeks I had an initial appointment that confirmed that structurally the baby's heart had no defects. This appointment was to check on valves and other areas that were too small to see earlier. I went alone to this appointment and surprisingly I was much more emotional that I was prepared for. Everything checked out perfectly and I was a big ball of hormonal tears. Mostly just very grateful that this baby is so healthy. As I waited for the cardiologist and ultrasound tech. in the same room that we found out about Sam's problems, I was overwhelmed with so many emotions....remembering how awful and hopeless I felt 4 years ago when they confirmed that Sam had something very wrong with his heart that was going to require open heart surgeries...while at the same time reflecting on how amazingly healthy and active Sam is today...to feeling so grateful that this pregnancy has been so much less stressful and without all the conflicting emotions and fears I was going through while carrying Sam.

The ultrasound also confirmed that he is a very average sized baby...currently weighing in at 5 lbs., 15 oz (41st%) and that I am measuring perfectly (even though I feel huge!) Our little stinker is head down and would not show his face (hands were covering) but they were able to see the boy parts so that's still a for sure! I just can't wait to hold him in my arms!

MISC. WEEKEND ADVENTURES

On Saturday afternoon we had to have a large tree in the middle of our yard removed. While we were sad to see this old tree go, it was something we had to do because it's been dead for a couple of years and is becoming hazardous. Now we have a huge open area in the middle of our side yard which will be great for our boys to safely spend hours playing baseball, football or whatever.

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

(the stump will be removed soemtime this week)

While the tree was being cut down, Brian and I spent time planting some new perennials. This space used to be occupied by 2 large overgrown Holly bushes. We removed them because we were planning to remove the cement balcony and add on a deck to the side of the house. However, due to the tree removal and a few other unexpected house expenses, we are putting the deck on hold. Instead, in 2 weeks, the cement balcony will be repaired and refinished with a new coating of cement and the old rod iron railing will be replaced with a new updated railing for a much cheaper cost than building a deck. We are very happy too with the look of the new perennials.


Friday afternoon I babysat Mya for a bit and Sam took her for a ride on his new Gator. They had a blast riding around the yard for a long time. Can you tell they're cousins?!

Lastly, on Saturday evening, we took a trip to "Sam's park" and Brian attempted to start teaching him how to ride without training wheels. Sam really wasn't very excited about trying so I'm not sure if he's ready or not. He loves to ride his bike everywhere and doesn't understand the meaning of the word "slow down", so we figured he was ready. I guess we'll just keep trying once and a while until he's more comfortable.

Here's a couple of quick video clips...

Maniac Sam riding with training wheels...

Learning to ride without...

Wild At Heart

Happy Father's Day to all our wonderful dads and grandpas! We are so blessed to have you all in our lives. I'm feel especially blessed that Sam gets to grow up surrounded by so many good men who model for him how to be a great man. Today in church our pastor's message had many referrences to the book "Wild at Heart". It is a book that Brian has already read (and highly recommends) but it was so good for me to hear again that boys were created in God's image to be "wild at heart". Sometimes I feel exhausted by Sam's energy and rambuncous spirit, but today I realized again that #1 it is totally normal and #2 it is a huge blessing. Considering the health issues he started with in life and despite 2 open heart surgeries, Samuel has far more energy than either Brian or I could have ever imagined. And now I've been blessed with another little ball of testosterone due in 33 days....Lord help me!!!!!!!

Here's some pics of our "Wild at Heart" gymnast. Next up is swimming lessons starting in a week.

Ready to POP!

Here I am at 34 1/2 weeks...only 38 days to go (not that I'm counting or anything)! Surprisingly I'm still feeling really good. With Sam, my back hurt a lot, but I'm not having those issues this time. I've been having to get up 1 or 2 times a night to pee, so that's kind of annoying, but I can't complain. Also, I've been having a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions. I know this is typical and expected, but it makes me anxious! I lay awake worrying that I don't have everything done and end up getting up out of bed at 4:00 a.m because I'm so wound up. Some people might call this "nesting", but anyone who knows me knows that this is just part of who I am... a slightly anal retentive/perfectionist person when it comes to organization, cleanliness, etc. Sometimes it is a trait that serves me well, but mostly I just end up driving both myself and Brian crazy with my to-do list of "Things that must be done or the world will end"! My poor husband, God bless him, has been awesome for me lately. He works hard all day, but still comes home and does whatever I need done around the house or in my new classroom to help me relax. My goal is to be done with everything by the end of next week so I can just relax and enjoy a few weeks of summer before the baby arrives. Oh, and I think we finally picked a name! Well, at least we're down to 2 favorites. We will probably wait until he arrives and we see his cute little face to make the final decision. Here's some more pics of some of our summer adventures...

Cory and I took Samuel, Samantha and Brynn to a mini-zoo exhibit at the library. Sam got to pet a turtle and a big lizard, and look at other things like snake skins, deer skulls, and snow leopard furs. He had fun, but did not like waiting in line!

Last weekend, Brian, Sam and I went up to Silver Lake again for some family alone time. It rained alot in the mornings and evenings, but Saturday afternoon was gorgeous! We all got terrible sunburns (even with SPF on!) Guess we forgot to reapply. :( Here Sam is building a sand castle with a little boy that he met at the beach. While Brian fished, I sat with him on the beach for 3+ hours and he had a total riot making mud, throwing things in the water and then jumping from the dock into the water to retrieve things. He was SOOO tired by the time we got back to the cottage.


Sam was the fisherman of the weekend. He mastered the technique of slowly reeling in his line and everytime he pullled it in, there was a fish on the end! He was so proud of his skills, but actually he probably had more fun playing with the worms.

One of Sam's favorite things is to be pushed over and over again on the swings. He giggles so hard the entire time...it's so cute! Apparently I don't push him as high as daddy does because he kept bugging me to push him higher. When I finally gave him a good shove his response was, "Now that's what I'm talking about lady!" (needless to say, I almost peed myself from laughing so hard!) I have no idea where he comes up with some of his little sayings!

Last week, I took Sam over to Anna's house for a playdate. The kids had fun dressing up and playing for hours while LeAnne and I chatted.

Sam is in his 2nd week of gymnastics. He is having a blast! Every morning he wakes up and asks me, "Am I going to preschool today?" For some reason he has confused preschool with gymnastics, but either way, he is always excited to go. Today he started learning cartwheels and he seems to catch on to everything quite easily. He's one of the older kids in his group so I think he feels a little over confident (several times I've caught him running and trying to cut in line or push over some poor innocent little unsuspecting 3 year old girl in a too too.)

Every year since Samuel was a baby I've taken a picture of him in front of this flowering bush in our yard. It only blooms for about 2 weeks, so it's kind of neat to see how he changes from one year to the next.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a "Family Night" and roasted marshmallows in our outdoor fireplace and made smores! Yum!

Last but not least, I couldn't resist this adorable pic of Sam all pooped out after a day of gymnastics and playing at the park with his church buddies. He has lots of friends, but Murphy is still his "best buddy".

May Happenings

May has been so busy! I've been involved in IEP meetings galore this month, along with finidng out that I have to move to another school next year. I get to keep my same job (thankfully!) but I have to move all my stuff to another building. So, besides wrapping up the school year with kids and lots of paperwork, ole' prego has been packing up a classroom and let's just say it hasn't been easy or fun. Brian help me pretty much finish up last night, so now I plan to enjoy a few weeks of summer and then move into my new classroom after June 15. I also plan to use the next couple of weeks to get ready for Bubba Beckham. Lately I've been having a lot of contractions, so that's making me pretty anxious. I know they are just Braxton Hicks, but everytime it happens, I still worry that he might come early. I'm really hoping he waits until at least July because I have a busy month planned for Sam in June. Starting on Monday, Sam will be attending gymnastics lessons and then after that, he has two weeks of swimming lessons. We are both ready and excited to dive into summer!

To end, here's a recap of our busy month of May activities...

Tulip Time ended on a fun note. Saturday we met Staci and her family on the parade route so the kids could watch the Tulip Time final parade with floats and bands. The kids had a great time (Sam, Nina, and Mariah).

The four fabulous mothers on Mother's Day 2008.

The two expectant hot mamas! Both expecting boys! Poor Mya, but really I'm not too worried because she's a pretty spicy little girl. She can hold her own with the boys and you can see in the picture below!

Mya pinning Sam down for a kiss!

Grandma and her babies.

Last day with my awesome crew of Lincoln 5th graders.

(Lukas, Landon, Ben, Tanner, Ivie, Taneesha, Jereamy, Fernando, Mason, and Kevin)

Jillian VandeWege, a former 5th grade student of mine who now babysits for Sam, was chosen as the valedictorian of her graduating class. On May 21, there was a banquet for the "Top 10" of the Class of 2008 and each student was allowed to choose a teacher to accompany them to the banquet. I was honored that Jillian chose me as the teacher who made a difference in her life.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

Over Memorial Day weekend we went up to Silver Lake. It was so good to be back! The boys had a hay day fishing the first day and here's a pic of them cleaning fish prior to our fish fry. Yuck!

This is Sam's new buddy Cole. He lives in a condo near ours and they played on their big wheels all weekend. One night after both having baths, Cole invited Sam over to eat popcorn and watch the sunset. They ended up getting bored waiting for the sun to set, so they watched a Thomas video instead...go figure!

Daddy and Sam relaxing on the swing.

Rather than fish, Sam prefers to play with the worms!

On Sunday afternoon we all drove over to the Wolberts cottage for Mya's 2 year birthday party. She was so cute in her piggies and after opening each gift, she would immediately bring it over to Grandpa K. to inspect. It was so funny!

Uncle Jonny and Sam

Here's Jillian giving one of the Commencement speeches at Zeeland East High School's graduation. She graduated valedictorian and we're so proud of her! Especially since she'll be attending U of M in the fall! Go BLUE!

Jillian and me (32 1/2 weeks prego)

Tulip Time Fun

Sunday we took Sam to Kinderplaatz, a mini-carnival for kids at Tulip Time. He had a blast going on the inflatable slides and obstacles courses. The second picture of him climbing out of the obstacle course had Brian and I in tears laughing. It reminded us of.... well, let's just say a "second birth"!

Here, Sam is watching a funny little farm show by Farmer John. He was totally engrossed!

Yesterday Grandpa Ron and Haley and I went to the Children's Parade. Sam liked the bands, but he thought it was too loud! He was especially excited to see Uncle Alex playing his drums.

Later that evening after daddy got home, we went downtown to watch the Dutch Dancers, specifically his favorite babysitter Jillian. (Jillian was just named Zeeland East High School's valedictorian! We're so proud of her! It must have been that fabulous 5th grade teacher she had! :)